Seattle SuperSonics vs. Sacramento Kings
- The Seattle SuperSonics and the Sacramento Kings will both be trying to pick up a win on Wednesday when they battle at ARCO Arena.
The SuperSonics lost 118-108 to the Bulls last time out, as 1-point underdogs. The combined score sailed OVER the posted total of 193.
Wally Szczerbiak led the SuperSonics with 21 points and Kevin Durant added 20 in the loss.
Sacramento took advantage of 19 Chicago turnovers in Saturday's 105-101 win, failing to cover the 8.5-point home spread. The 206 points scored were OVER the posted total of 198.5.
Ron Artest led the way with 28 points, while Brad Miller had 22 points and 20 boards for the Kings.
Current streak:
Sacramento has won 4 straight games.
Team records:
Seattle: 12-36 SU, 22-25-1 ATS
Sacramento: 22-24 SU, 25-21 ATS
Seattle most recently:
When playing on Wednesday are 1-9
Before playing Phoenix are 5-5
After playing Chicago are 3-7
After a loss are 1-9
Sacramento most recently:
When playing on Wednesday are 8-2
Before playing Utah are 3-7
After playing Chicago are 5-5
After a win are 6-4
A few trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 11 of Seattle's last 13 games when playing on the road against Sacramento
Seattle is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Sacramento
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Seattle's last 11 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Seattle's last 6 games
Sacramento is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Sacramento's last 9 games at home
Sacramento is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing Seattle
The total has gone OVER in 11 of Sacramento's last 13 games when playing at home against Seattle
Next up:
Seattle at Phoenix, Friday, February 8
Sacramento home to Utah, Friday, February 8
Wednesday’s Pregame Buzz
NBA
Los Angeles Lakers at Atlanta Hawks
* Lakers are 10-4-1 ATS in their last 15 road games.
* Hawks are 8-3-1 ATS in their last 12 home games.
* The UNDER is 10-4 in the last 14 Wednesday games.
San Antonio Spurs at Washington Wizards
* Spurs are 2-8 ATS in their last 10 road games.
* The UNDER is 8-0 in Washington’s last 8 games against the Western Conference.
* Home team is 10-3-2 ATS in the last 15 games.
Miami Heat at Detroit Pistons
* Heat are 1-10-1 ATS in their last 12 Wednesday games.
* Pistons are 10-3 ATS in their last 13 home games.
* The UNDER is 19-7-1 in the last 27 meetings.
Utah Jazz at Denver Nuggets
* Jazz are 8-1 ATS in their last 9 games overall.
* Nuggets are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 home games.
* Favorite is 9-3 ATS in the last 12 meetings.
New Orleans Hornets at Phoenix Suns
* Hornets are 16-5 in their last 21 games against the Pacific Division.
* Suns are 7-2-1 ATS in their last 10 games overall.
* The UNDER is 9-1 in the last 10 meetings.
Chicago Bulls at Portland Trail Blazers
* Portland has dropped 3 of 5 on its current homestand after it had won the previous 12 at the Rose Garden. The Blazers lost to Denver 105-103 in overtime on Monday, and Brandon Roy said "This has been tough, as the intensity has been really high, but it’s been close losses.” EDGE: BULLS
* The Chicago Bulls have won just 2 of their last 6 games, and have not won consecutive games since the end of December. Chicago is already missing its second-leading scorer in Luol Deng with an Achilles' injury, and now Kirk Hinrich is considered a game-time decision for this game due to a rib cage injury. EDGE: BLAZERS
* Bulls are 6-4 ATS in their last 10 road games.
* Blazers are 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games overall.
* The UNDER is 8-2 in the Blazers last 10 games as a favorite.
CBB
#12 Texas at Oklahoma
* Texas is 3-7 ATS in its last 10 games overall.
* Texas is 8-3 ATS in the last 11 meetings.
* Oklahoma is 8-21-2 ATS in its last 31 games against the Big 12.
UConn at Syracuse
* The Huskies are currently on a 5-game winning streak, during which they've defeated three Top 25 teams in Marquette, Indiana and Pittsburgh. “I’m very impressed with what we’re doing right now,” said UConn guard AJ Price. “We are not even at our peak yet.” EDGE: UCONN
* The Syracuse Orange are winners of 3 straight and have also won 2 in a row against the Huskies. The Orange will also try to take advantage of a UConn team that will again be without one of its leading scorers. Sophomore guard Jerome Dyson (14 ppg) was one of two players suspended by coach Jim Calhoun after they were caught with alcohol on campus. EDGE: SYRACUSE
* UConn is 5-14 ATS in its last 19 road games.
* Syracuse is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games overall.
* The UNDER is 9-4 in the last 13 meetings.
#2 Duke at #3 North Carolina
* Duke is 2-9 ATS in its last 11 Wednesday games.
* North Carolina is 25-7 ATS in its last 32 home games.
* Underdog is 10-3 ATS in the last 13 meetings.
Pregame.com
Duke-UNC Betting Preview
by Robert Ferringo
Outside skill or inside will? Royal blue or baby blue? Home favorite with an individual vendetta or higher-ranked road underdog looking for team revenge? Lots of questions about the regional and national college basketball landscape are going to be answered on Wednesday night when Duke wanders down Tobacco Road to tussle with No. 3 North Carolina in the biggest rivalry game in college basketball.
Second-ranked Duke will travel to Chapel Hill to face No. 3 North Carolina at 9 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 6. Duke is 19-1 overall on the season and currently in first place in the ACC with a perfect 7-0 league mark. North Carolina is 20-1 and in second place in the ACC at 6-1.
The Tar Heels have controlled the series recently, winning four of the last six meetings outright including a clean sweep last season. North Carolina has been the second most profitable team in the country this year with a 15-4 mark against the spread and they are 4-1 ATS in their last five games against Duke at the Dean Dome.
Also, North Carolina is a sensational 10-3 ATS against the spread in this rivalry dating back to 2002. That being said, they will likely be favored in this contest (no line was available at the time this was published) and the chalk is just 3-10 ATS in the series.
This game features the proverbial "contrast in styles" as Duke is an exclusively perimeter team matched up against the interior size and strength of the Tar Heels. The tallest player in the Duke rotation is just 6-feet, 8-inches, and it's a soft 6-8 at that. North Carolina leads the nation in rebounding margin at +11.9 per game while Duke is just 99th. Conversely, the Blue Devils are 51st in the nation in 3-point accuracy while the Tar Heels are just 108th.
Both teams are comfortable in an up-tempo game and both feel comfortable if the score reaches the 80s. But the game will be determined by which club is able to execute their style of play. The Blue Devils will have absolutely no answer on the interior for North Carolina's All-American, 7-0 center Tyler Hansbrough. But I also don't see how UNC will be able to tag the plethora of shooters that the Blue Devils station around the arc.
Can UNC trade two-point baskets for three-point baskets for 40 minutes? Can Duke make enough trifecta's to even make it an issue? Any bet on this game should be based on how you answer those fundamental questions.
There is never a question of motivation in this matchup. And as I had mentioned, the puppy is on a stellar 10-3 ATS rush when these schools face off. However, beyond the exhausted historical and geographic subplots there are several more recent themes that underlie this matchup.
This is the first time these teams have met since last year's game at UNC where Duke forward Gerald Henderson treated Hansbrough's face like a whack-a-mole last March. That cheap shot by Henderson came with less than 20 seconds left in an 86-72 Tar Heel blowout and resulted in a broken nose for UNC's All-American forward. Coach Roy Williams and Hansbrough are too classy to exact any sinister manner of revenge. But you know that the baby blue-clad crowd is going to be all over Henderson, who has become Duke's second-leading scorer. I'm not certain that Henderson, a sophomore, is mature enough to handle the scene. And if he is a non-factor I don't know where the Blue Devils will find scoring to pick up the slack.
North Carolina does have issues of its own. Sophomore point guard Ty Lawson left the Tar Heels' last game with a severely sprained ankle and is questionable to play on Wednesday. While I do expect him to be in uniform, I don't expect him to see any serious minutes. UNC already lost backup point guard Bobby Frasor for the season, which leaves third-string triggerman Quentin Thomas to run the show for the high-octane Heels. Thomas is a senior and does have plenty of experience but he is nowhere near the floor leader that Lawson is.
I think Thomas will be ready. I think Henderson should be ready. And I know Dickie V will be ready. Now the only remaining issue is which team is going to cover one of the most highly anticipated and most actively wagered games on the college hoops calendar.
Docsports.com
Celtics F Paul Pierce (flu) is expected to play tonight, but coach Doc Rivers admitted "it's going to be tough."
Kings C Brad Miller is a game-time decision tonight because of nine stitches near the knuckle of his right index finger.
Wizards F Caron Butler is questionable for tonight's game against the Spurs, after aggravating his left hip flexor in Tuesday's game.
Bulls G Kirk Hinrich is considered a game-time decision for tonight, after being diagnosed with bruised ribs.
Sonics G Delonte West (left quad strain) and F Wally Szczerbiak (right ankle sprain) are both questionable for tonight's game.
Arizona guard Nic Wise may miss 6 weeks with knee surgery
February 6, 2008
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -Arizona guard Nic Wise had knee surgery Wednesday and could miss four to six weeks.
Wise had surgery to repair a torn meniscus that he suffered last week at USC, coach Kevin O'Neill said. Wise managed to play against UCLA on Saturday, but when the injury did not improve, he was taken out of Tuesday's practice.
Wise's absence could be a big blow for the Wildcats (15-7, 5-4 Pac-10), who are tied for third in the Pac-10. Arizona has already weathered injuries to leading scorer Jerryd Bayless and forward Bret Brielmaier.
``He's our only real true point guard,'' O'Neill said.
Wise, a sophomore, leads Arizona with 89 assists and 41 steals. He averages 8.3 points per game.
O'Neill said he had not decided who would replace Wise in the starting lineup. Arizona's next game is against Arizona State at McKale Center on Sunday.
Bulls F Kirk Hinrich (13 ppg; ribs) has been ruled out of tonight's game against the Blazers.
North Carolina G Ty Lawson (ankle) is not expected to play tonight according to coach Roy Williams.
Bucks F Yi Jianlian (shoulder) is unlikely to play tonight according to coach Larry Krystkowiak.
Kings C Brad Miller is a game-time decision tonight because of nine stitches near the knuckle of his right index finger.
Oklahoma F Longar Longar (13 ppg; leg) is expected to play limited minutes at best tonight against Texas.
St. Joseph's F Ahmad Nivins (14 ppg; ankle) has been downgraded to expected to miss tonight's game.
St. John's leading scorer F Anthony Mason Jr. (14 ppg; ankle) has been downgraded to doubtful for tonight's game.